Conscious Reading. Not for the Plot, but for Understanding Psychology

Daily Compass

Reading fiction, autobiographies, and memoirs is not just a way to learn an interesting story and fill your free time. It is a way to temporarily step outside your own identity and observe another person’s life from the perspective of an external observer. When we evaluate ourselves, our lives, and the people in our environment, we are not objective. Our perception is layered with a large number of internal programs, many of which we are not even fully aware of. When we watch a film or read a book, we are able to be more impartial.

In this post, I want to focus specifically on reading books — when you can fully immerse yourself in the story without being distracted by visual noise and special effects.

When you read a book with well-developed characters or with detailed descriptions of real-life events, your brain is able to model the thinking, fears, motivations, and inner conflicts of the main characters. You are not just observing — you are experiencing it with them. You can see the full chain of events that led the character to a particular decision. In real life, many details remain hidden from us. Different events trigger emotions in us, and then we evaluate those events and other people’s actions based on our own experience, formed beliefs, personality type, and worldview. But we do not see the story behind each person.

Books allow you to see situations in a more multidimensional way. You see the full picture and can try to analyze what led the character to certain events, reactions, and decisions. I am talking about an approach where you do not just read a book, but analyze the story. This kind of training can create new neural connections that help you understand real people better.

You begin to see that behind other people’s actions there are almost always specific reasons: fear, pain, insecurity, hope, past experience. People stop seeming “just strange,” “stupid,” or “wrong.” They become more understandable. And you gradually stop reacting as painfully to other people’s imperfections and human behaviors that seem (or are) unfair or unpleasant. Over time, this changes your perception of reality. You begin to recognize other people’s emotions more quickly, understand their reactions better, and interpret their behavior less often as something directed personally against you.

For example, the reason behind many unpleasant words someone says to you may actually be their internal instability (sometimes combined with a lack of upbringing and limited thinking), rather than a negative attitude toward you personally. Your colleague may come to work after stress at home and a sleepless night and lash out at you because of their unstable emotional state. Meanwhile, you may begin to think that they hate you, want to create problems for you at work, and take your position. This is just one example.

Reading books can tell us as much about human nature as the deliberate study of psychology. Perhaps even more.

It is important to read not automatically, but consciously. Pay attention to the inner experiences of the characters. Ask yourself questions:

— Why did they act this way?

— What are they feeling at this moment?

— How did their past influence this decision?

— How would I feel in their place, or how would I act in their place?

This kind of reading gradually expands your emotional perception. Conscious reading can help you learn to understand not only other people better, but also yourself.